My Store Bought Relatives

18th Century Portrait of a Lady, American



Love her Hat!



Love her Hat, Lace and Roses.

This is the Little Girl I bought at Chicago Antique Show

Her Dress and Roses are wonderful

A handsome 18th Century American Gentleman

I think he is handsome.

Love her pose.

Detail of her cloths

  We saw his brother earlier.

I call her my Rich Aunt Julia!

She Might be my favorite.

Love her gold jewerly.

She has a beautiful face,too!

My Uncle of Great Wealth and Importance.

Doesn't he look Important and Wealthy?

A 18th Century, French Beauty.

She has beautiful complexion, so pale and soft..

Maybe Me  when I was a little boy???

I sure am sweet!

A handsome American Business man.

A Creole from New Orleans

Love her feather and pearls

18th  Century American Grand Lady

She is the Grand Dame of them all. The first formal oil portrait that I ever bought. I paid $300.00 and was very excited and nervous.

Love her lace and jewerly

I just think she is the bomb.

20th century Grand Society Dame.

Love her cross and rose and fur collar.

I call this little sweet child, Bonnie Blue, after Bonnie in Gone With The Wind.

A Mother that some one loved very much!

Nice Dress!!!

What a sweet pea.

Her name is Anjelica.

Could be President of the South, Jefferson Davis?

My Bestest, 17th century English Beautiful Lady

Just love her colors, and she looks so pretty in my room with the Toile wallpaper.

Such a wonderful face.

   When I first started out collecting for My Old Historic House, AKA,The 1845 Historic Elgin/Cottrell House Museum, I had lots and lots of Victorian Prints. They were really fun and by artist like Paul DeLongpre,Chandlers and Prange, to mention a few. I had lots of them with children and animal themes. One day while walking around the house I made the statement that I would like to replace them all with formal oil portraits. so, that is just what I did. As I found a portrait, I will sell off a couple of the prints. I remember the first portrait I ever bought. It was for $300.00. I was nervous, excited and scared, all at the same time. Everything was up hill after that. The price seemed to go up and up with every one that I bought. I  remember one that I bought at the Chicago Antique Show, I was there with a friend, when I paid for it, I made the comment,"You've come along way from the farm."You see I grew up on a farm in Missouri. I am from a very large family, 5 brothers and a sister. We were really country and sometimes I don't know where my taste comes from. I would say the milk man, but we didn't have our milk delivered. Maybe the post man?????
      I love formal  oil portraits. They all seem to tell a story. I like to name them and give them histories. I have tour all the time at the Elgin/Cottrell house and one question that people always ask is, "Are these portraits of your ancestors?"I always tell the same story. "They are store bought ancestors!" My family was poor and we could not afford to have portraits painted, so when I got older and had money I went out and bought some. Thus the term,"Store bought Ancestors."
     Some of the details are beautiful. Some have pretty faces, others are kinda ugly. But, I loves them anyhow. I hope you enjoy them too. Thanks for stopping by,My Old Historic House, come by for a tour anytime, I will leave the lights on and Sissy Dog will meet you with a jump and a kiss.

Globes De Mariee's Ameican Cousins



American wedding dome made from a brides wedding veil .



Close up of the orange blossoms  made from wadded cotton and dipped in wax.

A Old Paris Fan Vase was used here as a holder for a Victorian Ladies Wedding Head Piece. Again home made orange blossoms, made from wadded cotton and dipped in wax.

This dome contains a Victorian wedding head dress and the net  veil.

You have to realize that the Victorian brides could not just go to the Bridal shop and get a head dress, most often they had to be hand made and use what materials that were around.

This one is a favorite of mine. The net  veil is under all the silk flowers and in the center a small pair of wax hands, which would  represent the married couple.





Here it is in my Guest bed Room where I keep all these wedding domes in this post. I call this room the Wedding Room for that reason.

And  Ms. Sissy Dog sends you a kiss. Stop by and see me and her any time at My Old Historic House, I will leave the light on and you are always welcome.

     The French have a very special way about most evrything, always colorful and romantic. The Globes De Mariee ( wedding domes) they made in the Victorian years are of no exception. To all of you in Blogland that do not know what a wedding dome is, it is basically a large glass dome that is filled with pieces of things that represent different aspects of marriage. Each little item had a different meaning. I will not go into that now, as they are long and drawn out. Often after the wedding the French bride would place her wedding veil or head dress in her Globe De Mariee as a final touch.These precious old domes have somehow made it through the ages and are now showing up for sale on the open markets. And I love them , because I have a passion for anything under a dome.
   The French were not the only ones who made wedding domes. Here in American they were also very popular during those wonderful Victorian years. The ones that I have found from Ameican are not quite as elaborate as the French. They are ususally just a large glass dome with the brides head dress and veil inside. A few have  a little extra and  they added things, like wax hands, doves, vases or sometimes even a photo. I for one have always asked, how can the family sell these things??? I just could not, if I knew it was my Mothers or Grandmothers. But the new generations of Americans are usually not interested in much but cell phones, blackberrys,tex,wi and lord knows what else. I am sorry if I have gotten some of these things wrong, but you see, I have never even owned a cell phone. Then again, I have to say, I am glad they wanted to sell them off or I could not find them for sale.
  

A real French Globes De Mariee or wedding dome. This was the first real French Dome in my collection. I found it in the ABC Carpet and Home store in New York City. That was before 9-11, and I brought it home on the plane. Doubt if you could do that today?

    Antique hunting is a sport. Just like deer hunting,duck hunting or big game. There is the thrill of the hunt and the kill is getting to say," I will take it"! We use money instead of bullets. I grew up in a large family of 5 brothers and a father who were big hunters. I could never kill an animal so I took on antique hunting instead. I never held it against them and I was always in line for the supper table to eat  what they had killed. I guess it was a little double standard. I also love all the stuffed creaters my father had on display  as a trophey from his hunts. I wish I had some of them today. I could put them under a glass dome.
  I have found that the best way to take photos of these domes is in a total dark room using a flash. That is the way I took all these and they seem to do better. If you try in day light they seem to catch shadows and without the flash they are too dark and with it they are too light.